Koch Bros. Group Plans Anti-Occupy Wall Street Protest

Posted on Sep 19, 2012

Observers say Occupy is dead, but the multimillion-dollar conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity is organizing a demonstration against the movement in New York City on Thursday “to stand up to Occupy Wall Street extremists.”

Supporters of the organization, which claims to have more than 2 million members nationwide and is funded in large part by Charles and David Koch of Koch Industries, will gather in front of Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan as part of a national bus tour attacking President Obama’s economic policies.

“The Occupy Wall Street crowd is nothing but a fringe element of malcontents bent on mayhem and destruction,” said Steve Lonegan, a director for the group in New Jersey. “These are people who despise free enterprise. They are not attacking Wall Street. They are attacking the very freedoms that everyday Americans cherish to pursue their own dreams and succeed.”

Although Americans for Prosperity says it “does not expressly advocate for the success or defeat of any candidate for public office”, the organisation has run adverts targeting Obama. Mitt Romney attended a fundraiser held by the Kochs this summer.

A spokesman for Americans for Prosperity would not predict how many people might attend the rally at the Rockefeller, but the group’s website claims to be “more than two million activists strong” across the country. The group has chapters in 34 states, according to its press release. Attendees will listen to speeches from Tim Phillips, the president of Americans for Prosperity, Lonegan and others.